Since You've Been Gone
by rainnemccorvik13
Summary: Booth faked his death for the sake of capturing a killer in the Episode. The Wannabe in the Weeds but now he's back and Bones has been distant. Can he gain back her trust or will their relationship be forever damaged. Rated M for a reason.


Brennan's pupils dilated as her laptop monitor flickered to life. She let a soft breath escape her slightly parted lips as her fingers tapped out her password.

B-O-N-E-S

The corner of her lips turned up in a half smile as she pressed the enter button. Leaning a little closer to the screen she began scrolling through her emails, trying to determine those of importance among the vast majority of fan mail. She opened one and then another, both from Cam, asking her to email back the electronic x-rays of their latest case. Brennan did as asked and tapped the send button.

Her elbow came to rest beside the keyboard, and she propped her smooth, square jaw in the palm of her hand as she read. She was so absorbed with reading what was written across the screen in front of her that she failed to notice Booth entering her office.

He stood there for a moment, unable to take his eyes off of her. He had long ago realized that she was breath-takingly beautiful, but that didn't stop him from forgetting to breathe every time he saw her. His eyes flickered over her face, lit by of the glow from her computer in the dark room around her. He smiled as he watched her, too concentrated on her work to notice the world around her.

"Bones…." He said softly as not to startle her. She didn't respond. "Hey…Bones?!" he said a little louder, waving his hand out at her. Still she didn't hear him. Her mind was too preoccupied.

Booth rolled his eyes and shrugged. Reaching over he flipped the light switch to Brennan's office, instantly flooding it with white light. Brennan jumped and let out a small gasp of surprise before closing her eyes against the offending light.

She allowed her eyes to adjust and then reopened them and turned towards the door. She couldn't help that her heart palpitated just a bit more quickly when he was near, or that a small smile creped across her lips. She cleared her throat and tried to put those thoughts aside.

"Booth…." She scolded rubbing her eyes as she faked her anger at him. "You could have warned me before forcing my pupils to constrict too quickly…" she stood then and turned back to her desk.

"Sorry Bones, I tried calling your name a couple of times but you didn't seem to hear me…" he said shoving his hands into his trouser pockets, a common reaction when he became worried or agitated. Brennan had noted that long ago, as well as his other various body language signals.

"You did? Sorry, I guess I was just caught up in work again." She said with a small frown.

"No worries are you ready to go?" he asked leaning casually against her door frame, watching as she collected her things. Brennan pulled on her coat and turned to face him while buttoning it up.

"Sure let's grab a chunk to eat." She said with a smile. Booth broke into a smile himself and shook his head lightly.

"Bite Bones, it does 'let's grab a _bite_ to eat'." He corrected her, falling into their normal rhythm of things.

"Right, isn't that what I said?" Brennan asked with a small smile before picking up her bag and strolling towards him. She reached out a turned off her computer as she passed before arriving at the doorway. Booth looked down at her as she stopped before him. "I'm ready when you are." He said stepping aside a little for her to pass. She turned and side stepped through the door, their bodies brushing against one another's as she passed. Booth shivered slightly and then followed, shutting the office door behind him.

"Royal Café sound good to you?" he asked as they arrived outside the Jeffersonian institute. Brennan nodded as he pulled open his black SUV door for her. She climbed in and pulled her seatbelt on as he closed it behind her and jogged to the driver's side.

Booth climbed in and started the car. As they drove through the busy D.C. streets he couldn't help but glance over at his passenger. His eyes lingered on her face as she stared straight ahead towards the bright, crowded streets. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about.

Brennan watched as blurry neon signs whizzed past her window. She swallowed hard, feeling Booth's eyes on her. He did this sometimes, just watched her. As if he were studying a case file, trying to figure it out, trying to figure her out. His gaze didn't necessarily make her uncomfortable in the sense that it was weird, but it stirred emotions within her that she's rather not address at the moment. Brennan shifted slightly, trying to relieve that coil that was beginning to wind itself in the pit of her stomach s his eyes smoldered on her.

Her hand quickly found the door handle as Booth pulled to a stop in front of the dinner. She got out of the car, not waiting for him to shut it off before closing her door behind her and waiting patiently. She just needed to be out from under his stare for a moment so that she could compose herself.

Booth jogged around the front of the car and met her near the door. He flashed a gorgeous smile and opened the diner door for her. As she passed him his hand found it's oh so familiar spot at the small of her back. With that hand he could lead her to hell a back and she wouldn't mind. Instead he led her towards their regular spot at the counter. Gus, the owner, glanced their way before flipping a burger onto a bun and grabbing a salad from the freezer. He strolled over to where the anthropologist and the FBI agent sat quietly. He set the dishes in front of both before turning away. "I'll have your fries in a minute…"

They had been coming here so often over the years that when it was just the two of them he didn't even bother to take their order, he knew what they wanted. Brennan quietly unrolled her fork from her napkin and laid the cloth in her lap.

Booth did the same, before ignoring the fork and taking a bite out of his burger.

Their 'After Case Dinner' went on as it had before. They sat at the counter eating cheese fries as well as their own individual meals, talking about work and various little things.

Booth realized that Sweets was right, they didn't really talk about anything really other than various work related things. He made a mental note to change that.

Things were falling right back into place. For a while there he had feared that she would never forgive him. She had had every reason not to.

He had faked his death in order to catch a murderer and had in the process inadvertently broken her heart and destroyed her trust.

Although she had been one of four people on his list of people for the government to inform about his true well being she had fail to be informed. Sweets had decided that studying Brennan at her most vulnerable would be more beneficial than letting her know that he was indeed not dead.

It took everything in him not to kill that snot nosed kid. He had pulled him aside while Bones had turned her back and let him know what was in store for him if he ever did something like that to her again.

It had been days before she would give him more than a short direct answer to anything he asked her. Hell it had been weeks before she would look him in the eye or allow him to touch her in the slightest way. He had hurt her and in turn torn his own heart to pieces.

Luckily Bones began to come back to her old self but Booth still felt that he needed to tread carefully around her, lest he do something to mess up what they had again.

Brennan turned a little in her seat to face Booth as he drove towards her apartment. "Booth." She called. He hummed a response that let her know he was listening.

"What was it like being dead?" she asked, her gaze falling to her hands. Booth almost slammed on breaks from the surprise of that question. Instead he tapped the break peddle and slowed the SUV a little as he turned down her street.

"Bones, you do realize that I was never actually dead right? It was all pretend." He said looking over at her as he spoke to make sure she understood.

Brennan rolled her eyes. "Yes of course, I am fully aware that reanimation of the deceased is improbable and impossible, I meant what was it like having everyone think you were gone?"

He pulled the vehicle to a stop in front of her building and turned off the ignition. Booth sighed and let his hands drop into his lap as he leaned back into his seat.

"It was horrible Bones. I couldn't go anywhere, do anything, talk to anyone…I just sat around in a small gray room waiting until the government had arranged my funeral and I could come out in the open again." He said turning to look at her, hoping he had answered the question to her satisfaction.

Brennan nodded and looked down at her hands, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, a gesture that Booth was all too aware of. "Did you miss me?" she asked softly, as if afraid of the answer.

Booth frowned slightly and turned to face her more. "Well of course I did Bones. You're my friend." He said, disbelieving that she would think that he didn't miss her while in isolation. In all truth he had thought about her more than he should have. In the weeks that he was confined to an underground government bunker he couldn't get her out of his head. Her curves, her lips, her eyes, everything. Her body drove him crazy, he didn't understand how she couldn't notice how unbelievably sexy she was, or the eyes that followed her when she crossed a room.

She drove him absolutely mad and didn't even know it. His eyes flickered over her body across from him, working up from her bare legs, along her lean thighs to linger on her skirt clad hips for a moment. From there he worked his way along the curves beneath her blouse (her jacket had been removed earlier in the evening), grazing slowly along her well defined collarbone. He subconsciously licked his lips as his gaze traveled along her long lean neck only to then trace her taunt square jaw. He couldn't help but linger a little longer than necessary on her plump pink lips before finding her light green eyes. As his exploration of her form came to an end he realized that she had been watching him look her over.

Booth quickly turned away and cleared his throat. Brennan smirked, those inconvenient feelings pooling between her thighs as she watched Booth try to subtly adjust himself in the driver's seat. She loved it when he looked at her like that. It was a primal stare, one that made her heart thump against her chest cavity wildly and her sex flex.

"Well I missed you too Booth. I was irrationally upset when I thought you had died and I'm sorry that I hit you." She said turning to look out the front windshield, trying to avoid his eyes for the moment so that she could regain a little control over her emotions.

He couldn't help the smile that creped across his lips. "It's not irrational to become upset when someone you care about leaves you." He said softly.

She nodded a little, indicating that she understood. "I thought you were gone forever." She said simply.

"I felt like I was going to vomit and all I wanted to do was assume the fetal position and cry until I was unable to continue." She said as if talking out her emotions out loud, trying to understand what she was feeling.

"It's alright Bones. If we had switched places I would have felt the same." He said reaching over to slip his hand over her own, resting them on her warm thigh. His fingers grazed lightly over her pale skin, tracing the pronounced muscle and vein. She nodded again before turning her hand to lay palm up. Booth continued what he was doing, sliding his fingers along her palm and fingers slowly.

"I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I tried talking to Sweets, but nothing he said made any sense." She sniffed as she spoke. Booth looked up and noticed a few tears sliding down her smooth cheeks.

"Shhhh. Don't cry Bones." He said leaning across the arm rest to reach her. He pulled her to himself, her chin resting on his shoulder as her arms wrapped tightly around his arms. "Don't cry. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." He whispered, smoothing her hair with his hand as the other gripped her waist, holding her close.

"Promise?" her voice was so soft that he wasn't sure he heard her. "What?" she sniffed near his ear and spoke again. "Do you promise you won't leave? You won't go anywhere?"

Booth nodded, tugging her close. "I promise Bones." He pulled away a little, breaking the hug as he held her out enough for him to look into her eyes. He gave her a small smile and she managed to return a weak one. Reaching up he used the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the still falling tears. He lent forward and pressed his lips against her forehead, a comforting gesture they had adopted over the years.

"Will you come in with me?" she asked looking up at him. "At least until I fall asleep?"

How could he deny those eyes? Those green orbs that begged him to pull her closer. To hold her for all he was worth. Booth nodded and pulled away, opening his door and pulling the keys out of the ignition before slipping them into his pocket.

He moved around the car and found her door, opening it for her, holding out his hand to help her up to the curb. She accepted, although he knew she was only humoring him. He smiled softly at her as his hand settled into the curve of her back, leading her up the stoop of her apartment building.

They rode the elevator in silence; the walk down the top floor hallway was no different. Booth had mixed feelings about Bone's little break down. He was ecstatic that she was opening up to him, becoming comfortable in his presence again, but at the same time he was torn with feeling extreme guilt and sadness. He had made her feel this way and it shredded his heart to pieces.

She opened the door and walked in, not bothering to make sure he was following her. "Do you want a beer?" she asked kicking off her heels and padding barefooted to the kitchen. He watched her, closing the door behind him, as she wiped her eyes once more and pushed her long hair from her eyes.

"Sure." He moved to sit on the couch, a familiar place, one they often ended up after a night of drinking, or a night in of take-out.

She joined him moments later having changed into a large college sweat shirt that hung down to her bare knees, bottles in hand. Her hair was thrown into a haphazard pony tail and her bare legs danced before him. She handed him one before climbing onto the sofa beside him.

She normally settled on the other end of the couch, sometimes their knees would touch, but tonight she plopped down right beside him, thighs pressed against each other's as she leaned over, her head finding his shoulder as the lip of her bottle found her mouth. She took a swig of the alcohol and let out a small sigh with her swallow.

Booth looked down at the top of her head, a little surprised. Brennan had never been the touchy-feely type. Sure she had let him touch her on the arm, back or shoulder, or hug her during a private moment but she had never really initiated the contact.

"I'm glad you're here Booth." She whispered, snuggling in closer to him. He nodded, and then realizing that she couldn't see his answer said: "Me too Bones, me too." before taking a sip of his own drink.

An hour and a half later Booth sat staring blankly at the blaring tv. He hadn't really been watching the re-run of today's afternoon football game, his mind had been too preoccupied with the petite anthropologist sleeping soundly against his side. His arm rested around her shoulder, her face buried in his chest as she slept. She must have been exhausted since she crashed not even thirty minutes after arriving home with him. He had tried his best not to wake her. After she had dozed off he had taken the still half full beer bottle from her small hands and placed it on the table before settling back and letting her sleep. He hadn't minded the position so much before but after the last hour his arm had begun to go numb and he knew he would have to move soon.

Booth shifted silently and gently, lifting Bones in his arms careful not to wake her. He carried her around the couch and down the hallway to her bedroom. He pulled back the covers with one hand before laying her down and covering her back up again. He leaned down to kiss her forehead softly. She didn't stir. He took in a slow breath and moved his lips until they were parallel with hers. He carefully ghosted his lips across hers, touching just enough to send sparks of electricity streaking through his body.

He pulled away and settled himself on the side of her bed, watching her for a moment or two, enjoying her peaceful rest. He reached out and brushed her light locks from her forehead, pushing them behind her ear. After a bit he stood and turned to leave. Before he had taken a step he felt her hand reach out and grab his wrist.

"No, you promised you'd stay until I fell asleep" she whined, sleep coating her voice. Booth chuckled as he turned back, leaning closer to her.

"But you are asleep Bones." He said softly, his breath grazing across her cheeks.

"No I am in a fully conscious state and you sir are breaking your promise." She rolled over and pulled the covers off of the other side of the bed. "Come on Booth, just stay." She said her eyes still closed. Booth smiled, kicking off his boots and removing his shirt before climbing in the opposite side of the bed. Before he had fully settled into the blankets Brennan had turned once more on her side and laid her head on his chest, her arm draped across his chest.

"Just until I fall asleep…" she mumbled, dozing off on his chest. Booth smiled and wrapped his arms around her sleeping form, enjoying being so close to her.

"Good night Bones…" he said landing a final kiss on her forehead before he slipped off himself.

He had to only have been sleeping for a couple of hours when he awoke suddenly. He opened his eyes and blinked as he stared into the dark room. It took him a minute to realize that what had woken him up had in fact been Brennan, who was at that moment placing soft open mouth kissed along his shoulder and neck.

He swallowed hard, trying to resist the rush of blood towards his lower body. "Bones…what are you doing?" he whispered hoarsely towards her dark form beside him.

"Waking you up." She said simply as she worked her way up to where his ear met his jaw line, nipping lightly there. Booth groaned softly, his hips bucking slightly off the mattress.

"Why?" he managed to strangle out. "I wanted to show you how much I missed you." She said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. As if she had bought him breakfast, or something simple, not as if she was trailing her hot tongue along his jugular, enticing another rough groan from the back of his throat.

"Bones you have to stop." He kicked himself, always the chivalrous guy. Brennan smirked against his skin.

"And why is that? You seem to approve both verbally," he gasped as her fingers danced along his chest and stomach before finding his semi-erect cock in his pants. "and physically." She said continuing what she was doing, pressing down on him with the palm of her hand.

It took everything in him to reach out and put his hand on her shoulders, pushing her away gently.

"Temperance stop." He said, seriousness lacing his voice. Brennan froze. He never used her first name, just Bones. She sat up, the covers sliding off of her, revealing her long legs and the tops of her hips as her fuzzy gray sweat shirt rose up as she shifted.

Booth's breath caught in his throat as he stifled another groan.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, her head falling to the side a little with her question.

Booth frowned and sat up, adjusting himself until he was more comfortable with his growing erection in his lap. "No Bones, but we can't do this. You're upset and not thinking clearly." He said reaching forward to cup her face. She leant into his big hand and looked up at him with doe eyes.

He sighed as she turned her head to kiss the palm of his hand softly. "I'm not upset anymore, you're here and I want to show you how much I missed you." She said reaching for him again. Booth leaned out of her reach, grabbing her wrists, holding them in his hands.

"Bones we can't, we have a line remember." He said half-heartedly to shake her from this strange trance. "No Booth, you have a line." She said leaning forward on her knees to get closer to him.

"I don't understand your line anyway, we are both consenting adults with physical needs." She said, her lips finding his jaw once more. Booth's eyes threatened to roll back into his head.

"I don't want to full fill any primal need with you Bones." He said, seeping a little anger into his voice to get her to pay attention.

"You don't find me worthy of sexual exploration?" she asked, the hurt evident in her eyes.

Booth sighed in frustration as he turned to face her. "Of course I do Bones. You're sexy as hell and I would give anything to be with you…"

"Then I don't see the problem." She said with a shrug.

"I thought we've already talked about this I don't want to have sex. If we were going to be together I want to make love to you…"

Bones smiled as she reached out to lace her fingers with his. "And that is what I want you to do." She whispered moving closer to him.

"No Bones, there is a difference between sex and making love. Sex is meaningless, making love is special. Its something you share with someone you care about as more than friends. Someone you love." He said softly.

"I know the difference Booth, you've explained it to be before. I just told you, I want you to make love to me." She said nonchalantly.

Booth was silent for a moment, trying to decide if she was serious of just very, very drunk. He knew the latter was improbable, she had only had one beer and besides that she never drank much. He frowned.

"You're sure?" he asked. Brennan leant forward, her lips finding his in an answer to his question. Booth groaned lightly. This kiss was so much better than the one they had shared a couple Christmas' ago. This was in no way a sibling-like kiss.

He pulled away slightly. "Once we do this, there is no going back." He said, giving her a chance to change her mind.

She smiled and captured his lips with hers again. His hand found her elastic hair band and pulled it away; freeing her deep, honey colored locks. His fingers tangled themselves within her hair as she shifted their bodies until she was lying down and he was looming over her.

His hands wasted no time wondering over her body. They both let out a moan as Brennan raised her hips to meet his.

She reached out to wrap her arms under his, her nails raking along his back as his hands found her thighs, bunching her sweatshirt as they traveled up. Her legs hooked with his, his hands fanning out against the taunt flesh of her stomach.

He broke away for a moment, grabbing the hem of her sweat shirt before pulling it slowly over her head.

He was gentle with her, like she was glass. She knew he wanted this to be special and although part of her agreed, the other part of her just wanted him inside her.

Booth ran the pads of his fingertips lightly over her skin. He ghosted along her sides, tickling her hip bones before running back up to brush along the underside of her bra-clad breast.

This wasn't how she had pictured it would be. She had always assumed that they would just give into the moment and that he would take her hard, maybe in the back of the SUV or against a sterilized examination table. She had never imagined that he would be such a gentle and generous lover.

Brennan reached behind herself and flicked open the bra clasp. Booth smiled a small thanks before pulling it slowly from her body, tossing it over his shoulder as he admired her beautiful shape. Her breasts were perfect, not too big, not too small. They molded perfectly into the palm of his hand as he began to fondle one, his lips finding hers momentarily.

He ignored his own painful need as he kneaded her breasts, his lips trailing along her neck and clavicle. She would be proud of him to hear that word dance around in his head as he mapped out her body. Clavicle. It sounded so erotic in this setting. She began to grow impatient and reached around to pull his hips to slam into hers, trying to relieve some of the pressure that was building in both of their bodies.

"Skip the foreplay…" she whispered as she reached down to unbutton his pants. He lifted his hips to help her remove his pants as he hooked his fingers into her panties, dragging them over her hips and down her legs as he stepped out of his own pants, his boxers following.

Her fingers danced over his chest and back, trying to memorize every crevice of muscle. She reached down, grasping him as he hovered over her. Booth's motions stilled as a long moan slipped from between his lips. Bones slowly slid her hand from the base to the tip, collecting the pre-cum there and using it to further lubricate his member as she stroked him. Her eyes flickered back up to Booth's face, watching as his eyes closed and his lips parted as he panted. His arms shook from both pleasure and the strain of holding himself up. She began to speed up her actions, determined to bring him to climax.

Before she got the chance Booth reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling it up to kiss the back of it as he smiled. "Not yet. There is still more I want to do to you." He said huskily. Brennan nodded as she laid back, her hands resting on his shoulders.

Booth trailed hot open mouth kisses from her lips down to her stomach, smiling as her muscles contracted under his lips. His tongue found her nipple and as he nipped at it Brennan arched her back, fingers digging into Booth's scalp.

His hands lathered her body in pleasure as he soon found her center. He teasingly swept his fingers along her folds, causing her to gasp and arch her back further, trying to catch his fingers. He grined, his lips capturing hers again as his didgets entered her in one push. Brennan groaned as her hips thrust to meet his fingers.

He pulled his fingers out before pushing them in again, picking up the pace each time until she was lifting her hips to greet his thrusts.

Booth smirked against her lips as he felt her tumbling towards the edge. Suddenly he pulled his hand away, leaving Brennan to whimper at the loss.

He crushed his lips to hers, positioning himself over her entrance. He moaned against her lips. As he pushed himself into her he stoped as he fill her to the hilt. He took a moment to try and calm his thumping heart, afraid he might explode into her before he even got started. She was so tight and hot that it drove him crazy.

"God Bones. So tight…" he groaned into her ear as he rocked his hips a little, testing his restraint.

Bone's hummed as she lifted her hips once more. "Faster." She said clutching his back for support as his hips began to pump into her center.

As they thrust into each other Booth whispered sweet nothings into her hair, their releases building quickly.

With one final long thrust Booth let out an almost primal growl of ectasy that in turn caused Brennan to tumble over the edge beside him.

The room was silent aside from heavy panting as Booth rolled to Bone's side, pulling her to rest against him as before.

"I missed you." She whispered, kissing him once more.

He smiled and pulled him close as they both drifted off, knowing that this was right, that they were right.


End file.
